Duel (1971)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Story: Richard Matheson (originally a TV film)

Cast: Dennis Weaver

Music: Billy Goldenberg

Time: 89 minutes

Bottom-line: Redefines road-rage  

Steven Spielberg’s first film can be best described by his later film: Duel is “Jaws on wheels”. Originally made as a television film, Duel is entirely one long car chase on a highway. Dennis Weaver stars as an unnamed car driver (so I will refer to his character as Weaver), driving a red Plymouth Valiant, on a deserted highway. We learn that he is on his way to meet his boss. En route, he encounters a rusty Peterbilt 281 tanker truck, that slows him down. When the truck driver signals him to overtake, Weaver is nearly hit by an approaching car. When he does get ahead of the truck, the truck driver chases the car at high speeds, eventually forcing Weaver to crash into a fence. Weaver never gets a chance to see driver’s face – and neither do the viewers – but truck is always onto him. Every means of escape is fruitless, as Weaver finds him the victim of a psychotic murderous truck. How does he escape?

 

Weaver as the unnamed car driver

As Spielberg put it, since the truck driver remains faceless, it is the truck itself that is the villain. Usually I hate car chase sequences in films; they’re always exaggerated and God knows how people keep quiet about all that damage! Yet, when one makes a film entirely about a car chase – another example would be Mad Max: Fury Road – then that is a different story. Here, the story is a near real-time experience, that makes it so much more exhilarating. The fact that it is a one man show – an unnamed, ordinary everyman – trying all the logical options (that any of us would have done in his place) makes it realistic.

 

The truck 

The camerawork – close-ups of the monstrous truck, the size of its body, the focus on Weaver’s expressions – and the suspenseful score add to the thrill. The tension is captured beautifully too: Weaver and the truck are both stationary on the road, each waiting for the other to make his move, each with his own game-plan… and it is a new tactic every time. Sooner or later you will find yourself at the edge of your seat; the experience is such that you put yourself in Weaver’s place.

The strength lies entirely in the storytelling structure; the camera, sound and Weaver’s acting do all the work. All the dialogues are more or less irrelevant, and the other lines are just Weaver thinking out loud; Duel could have well been a silent film. Weaver does brilliantly as the terrified car driver. He pretty much has to act scared throughout the film, but those subtle expressions he shows of revenge and forming a subterfuge to get the better of the driver – and his reaction in the climax – are to be noted.

So, what can you do with just a car and a rusty old truck? Hand them over to the right people, and you can make wonders. In this case, Spielberg and crew have given us a high-octane thriller, which I for one, never had hopes in… and I couldn’t be more wrong.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 87%